Acts 19:1-71While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples 2and asked them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when[] you believed?"
They answered, "No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit."

3So Paul asked, "Then what baptism did you receive?"
"John's baptism," they replied.

4Paul said, "John's baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus." 5On hearing this, they were baptized into[] the name of the Lord Jesus. 6When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues[] and prophesied. 7There were about twelve men in all.

Acts 8: 14-1714When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. 15When they arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16because the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into[] the name of the Lord Jesus. 17Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit

John 3:5 5Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.

Rom 8:9 9You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.

Acts 1: 4-5 4On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5For John baptized with[] water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.

Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

Acts 2:14-18 14Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: "Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning! 16No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
17" 'In the last days, God says,
      I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
   Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
      your young men will see visions,
      your old men will dream dreams.
18Even on my servants, both men and women,
      I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
      and they will prophesy.

John 14:8-12; 15-17 8Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us."

9Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? 10Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. 12I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit
15"If you love me, you will obey what I command. 16And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— 17the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be[] in you.

Acts 2:38-39 38Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call."

Eph 2:8-9 8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast.

1Thes 5:19-22 19Do not put out the Spirit's fire; 20do not treat prophecies with contempt. 21Test everything. Hold on to the good. 22Avoid every kind of evil.

1 Cor 14:1 1Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy.

Psalm 42:2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When can I go and meet with God?

Psalm 63:1 1 O God, you are my God,
       earnestly I seek you;
       my soul thirsts for you,
       my body longs for you,
       in a dry and weary land
       where there is no water.

Psalm 143:6 6 I spread out my hands to you;
my soul thirsts for you like a parched land.

John 4:34 4"My food," said Jesus, "is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.

Rev 3:14-17 14"To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:
These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation. 15I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.

Rev 2:4-5 4Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. 5Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.

Psalm 51: 10-13 10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,
       and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

11 Do not cast me from your presence
       or take your Holy Spirit from me.

12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation
       and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
       and sinners will turn back to you.

1 Cor 2:4-5 4My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, 5so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power.

Luke 11: 9-13 9"So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

11"Which of you fathers, if your son asks for[] a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"

Eph 5:18 8Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.

The first work of grace is salvation

The Holy Spirit is present at salvation

`But there's more - the infilling of the Holy Spirit

Exercise analogy - everyone has to exercise for basic health. It's NOT ok to be a couch potato - lack of exercise impacts your cardiovascular health, metabolism, bones, joints, energy, strength. Don't be a Spiritual Couch Potato - you'll lack essential power to do God's work

Jesus told his disciples to wait for it

The Holy Spirit was promised to be poured out

Jesus said we would do the works he did and greater works

a popular phrase has emerged What would Jesus Do. We see bracelets, bumper stickers with WWJD - What would Jesus Do. The idea is if Jesus were here in the flesh today, how would he react or respond to the circumstances he encountered

I think we need to ask a slightly different question. Not What Would Jesus Do - but What Did Jesus Do. Not WWJD but WDJD. Jesus said we would do what he did and greater works - when he goes to the Father - when the Holy spirit comes - we would do greater works!

What Did Jesus Do? He spoke prophetically, confronted evil doers, defended the sanctity of the temple, was a teacher, made disciples, healed the sick, raised the dead, fed the multitudes, humbled himself as a servant, prayed, comforted, forgave, showed forth love. Through the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling within we will do greater works!

Pastor David Ireland in his book Activating the Gifts of the Holy Spirit calls it co-laboring. He has graciously determined to partner with us in accomplishing his will on the earth.

Ignorance - lack of knowledge or information

Unbelief - especially the notion that God couldn't possibly use me

The promise is for ALL

It's an act of grace like salvation - we couldn't possible earn it or deserve it

God loves passion - we should eagerly desire the spiritual gifts

It starts with a passion for God - a hunger and thirst for Him

God doesn't like indifference

One of the keys is recognizing when we are being lazy, apathetic, not making spiritual things a priority and stop making excuses. I remember taking issue with an author once who stated the way you spend your time right now reflects the things that are most important to you. And I thought no, there are some things I am doing because I have to and other things that are important to me but there are temporary obstacles in my way. One of my key examples was exercise. As far as I was concerned, exercise was a major priority in my life. I just wasn't doing it because of obstacles and obligations that were out of my control. But then over a period of years as those obstacles and obligations began to gave way I realized that I only wanted to exercise under ideal circumstances. When I was well rested, in a great mood, when I felt energetic. There were other times when the treadmill was sitting right there, I didn't have to do anything else, but I was tired, I just didn't feel like it. I'd rather work on my computer. We know things are really a priority when we do them despite the fact that we're tired and don't feel it.

The same is true for spiritual laziness as with physical laziness. Spiritual laziness - don't feel like reading the word, don't feel like praying, don't feel like going to a higher level in God

One thing I love about God. The problem can be within me and I can go to Him to fix it

To receive we need to ask

Those that are filled need to be continually filled

We can pray and lay hands for people to receive the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit (Part 1)

Pastor Eva L. Clarke - Sunday June 25, 2006